The present invention relates generally to vehicle end gates and, in particular, to a vehicle end gate hinge cup.
Hinge cups, which are utilized in vehicle end gates to receive a trunnion attached to and extending outwardly from an outer portion of the vehicle body, are well known. The traditional prior art vehicle end gate is a door extending across the width of the vehicle and hinged at a side edge near the bottom thereof, which can be latched to the sides of a vehicle storage area, such as a pickup box or a vehicle interior, in a vertical position. The end gate is operable to be unlatched to swing about the hinge cup from the vertical position to a horizontal position that is approximately coplanar with an interior surface of the vehicle storage area. Prior art end gate hinge cups are constructed of metal, such as steel, brass, bronze, or the like and formed in a cup shape using a well-known hobbing process. The formed cup is then brazed and welded on an assembly bracket, forming a two-piece assembly. The assembly bracket and hinge cup are then mounted on the vehicle end gate and the hinge cup is used to engage with the trunnion at an end gate mounting location when the end gate is attached to the vehicle body.
The hobbing process, however, disadvantageously adds to variation in positional tolerances on centering the cup in welding process, limits the ability of the hinge cups to hold internal dimensions. The metallic material of the prior art hinge cup is also subject to excessive wear after the vehicle end gate has been removed and reinstalled a number of times, which loosens the flats on the interior surface of the hinge cup and eventually causes a chucking and alignment issue.
In addition, the prior art hinge cup disadvantageously has no adjustability for improving latching efforts. The design of the prior art hinge cup is over constrained in the vertical and the horizontal positions of the end gate and does not have any anti rotation features, which allows the hinge cup to rotate if excessive wear has occurred to the hinge cup.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide a hinge cup for a vehicle end gate that holds internal dimensions after being formed, is resistant to wear and has an antirotation feature.
The present invention concerns a hinge cup adapted to be installed on an outer surface of a vehicle end gate. The hinge cup includes a hinge cup body that is preferably constructed of a polymer material. The hinge cup body is attached to a surface of a vehicle end gate and has an outer surface that is operable to cooperate with a trunnion member extending outwardly from an end gate mounting location on a vehicle body. The hinge cup body cooperates with the trunnion member when the end gate is placed adjacent the end gate mounting location on the vehicle body.
The hinge cup body is preferably constructed of a polymer material, such as Nylon 4-6 or a similar high strength polymer that has high compressive strength, excellent high and low temperature performance, and oil resistance properties. The hinge cup body includes a bracket portion that is integral with a cup portion. The cup portion extends upwardly from the bracket portion and defines an aperture that is adapted to receive the trunnion member that extends from the vehicle body. The aperture is also adapted to receive a fastener for attaching the hinge cup to the outer surface of the vehicle end gate and for preventing rotation of the hinge cup when the vehicle end gate is attached and removed from the vehicle body. The bracket portion includes two wing portions extending outwardly from the cup portion. Each wing portion includes a mounting aperture extending therethrough for receiving a fastener for mounting the hinge cup to the outer surface of the vehicle end gate.
The hinge cup in accordance with the present invention is preferably constructed of an injection molded high strength polymer such as Nylon 4-6 or the like, which provides functions including, but not limited to, excellent lubricity and a very low frictional coefficient. The high strength polymer provides high compressive strength, which is needed for bearing surfaces, as well as excellent high and low temperature performance and oil resistance. The high strength polymer also has an excellent ability to hold inside dimensions, and has ultraviolet stability.
The hinge cup in accordance with the present invention also advantageously provides a single piece design with molded details, a center pin or bolt received by the cup portion to provide anti rotation and one or two fasteners to fasten the bracket portion to the vehicle end gate. The single piece design of the hinge cup advantageously eliminates the construction variation of the prior art due to brazing, spring-back on stamping, and forming of the metallic material of the prior art hinge cup. The hinge cup in accordance with the present invention also provides isolation from the trunnion preventing chucking, improved closing efforts for the vehicle end gate, and the ability to engage more surface area to the trunnion, which provides a greater ability to adjust engagement of the vehicle end gate and trunnion.